Paddleboarding spots in Dorset
49 launch spots across Dorset
Every mapped spot in Dorset
Zoom in to split a cluster; open a pin for the spotMap of every spot in Dorset
The interactive map opens on any device with JavaScript. The full list of launch spots is below.
Launch spots
Showing 24 of 49
SeaWeymouth put-in
Dorset, EnglandA slipway near Ferrybridge, close to the Small Mouth channel that links Portland Harbour to the Fleet lagoon. Portland Port requires harbour dues from every craft using Portland Harbour, including kayaks and paddleboards.
SeaWeymouth put-in
Dorset, EnglandA slipway on Portland Harbour at Wyke Regis, next to a sailing club recorded on OpenStreetMap. Portland Port requires harbour dues from every craft using Portland Harbour, including kayaks and paddleboards.
SeaWeymouth Harbour Slipway
Dorset, EnglandA named public slipway inside Weymouth Harbour, the tidal harbour formed by the mouth of the River Wey in central Weymouth. Weymouth Harbour's office runs a permit system covering slipway launch-and-recovery and PWC use.
RiverWareham Town put-in
Dorset, EnglandThis slipway connects to Abbot's Quay on the River Frome at Wareham, the town's historic waterfront. Poole Harbour's tidal channels reach inland close to the town, and Poole Harbour Commissioners ask paddlers to follow the Code of Safe Practice for Sea Canoeists and to keep clear of the harbour entrance and main shipping channels.
SeaWadmore Farm put-in (Studland)
Dorset, EnglandThis private slipway, reached by a permissive footpath, opens onto Studland Bay on its western shore near Studland village. The bay is a sheltered, roughly 4 km sweep of sand and dune protected by Ballard Down and Handfast Point, and its southern seagrass meadow is home to two protected seahorse species.
SeaThe Grove put-in
Dorset, EnglandThis disused slipway lies on the Portland Harbour shore below The Grove, on the Isle of Portland roughly 1.4 km east of Castletown. Portland Harbour is a large artificial harbour enclosed by breakwaters, and Portland Port requires paddleboarders and kayakers using it to hold a harbour permit. OpenStreetMap's own edit history describes the structure as a ruin among other ways on the shore, so its condition should not be assumed.
SeaSwanage put-in
Dorset, EnglandThis slipway lies on the seafront of Swanage, close to the town's Victorian pier, opening onto Swanage Bay. The bay is sheltered by Peveril Point to the south and Ballard Down to the north, and is used for swimming, kayaking and canoeing alongside its long-established diving trade.
SeaSwanage put-in
Dorset, EnglandThis slipway sits on Swanage's seafront a short walk north of the town pier, on the sheltered sand and shingle of Swanage Bay. The bay supports a range of watersports including kayaking and canoeing.
SeaSwanage put-in
Dorset, EnglandThis slipway is on Swanage's seafront, further north along Swanage Bay from the town pier. The bay is sheltered by Peveril Point and Ballard Down and is used for swimming, kayaking, canoeing, sailing and windsurfing.
SeaSwanage put-in
Dorset, EnglandThis launch point sits toward the northern end of Swanage's seafront, on Swanage Bay. The bay is sheltered and generally calm, and supports kayaking, canoeing and other watersports alongside Swanage's long-standing diving scene.
SeaBrownsea Island slipway
Dorset, EnglandThis private slipway sits on the south shore of Brownsea Island, the largest island in Poole Harbour, roughly opposite Sandbanks and the harbour entrance. The National Trust owns and manages the island bar a handful of leased buildings around the castle, and the northern half is a Dorset Wildlife Trust nature reserve with restricted access. OpenStreetMap tags the slipway access as private, so it serves the island's own boats rather than the general public.
SeaRodwell put-in (Weymouth)
Dorset, EnglandA slipway at Bincleaves on the Rodwell peninsula in Weymouth, facing Portland Harbour rather than the open sea. Portland Port's leisure rules name Bincleaves harbour among the areas closed to vessels, so check current restrictions before launching here.
SeaPortland put-in
Dorset, EnglandA slipway on the northern neck of the Isle of Portland, on the open-sea side behind Chesil Beach rather than on Portland Harbour. Chesil Beach and the Fleet lagoon behind it carry SSSI, Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar designations.
SeaPortland put-in
Dorset, EnglandThis slipway sits on the Castletown shore of Portland Harbour, a large artificial harbour on the Isle of Portland enclosed by four breakwaters built between 1849 and 1906. Portland Port, which administers the harbour, requires paddleboarders and kayakers to hold a harbour permit before launching.
SeaPortland put-in
Dorset, EnglandA slipway at Portland Marina on Portland Harbour, near Castletown on the Isle of Portland. Portland Port describes the harbour as used for nearly every kind of watersport, and charges harbour dues on all craft, including kayaks and SUPs.
RiverPamphill put-in
Dorset, EnglandA slipway on the River Stour at Pamphill, on the Kingston Lacy estate near Wimborne Minster. The Stour carries a public right of navigation only as far upstream as Tuckton, near Christchurch, well downstream of this reach.
SeaNothe Slipway
Dorset, EnglandA slipway below Nothe Fort in Weymouth, launching onto Weymouth Bay just outside the mouth of Weymouth Harbour rather than into the harbour itself.
SeaLyme Regis Marine Parade slipway
Dorset, EnglandThis slipway also launches onto Lyme Bay from Lyme Regis's main beach, along Marine Parade close to the Cobb's north wall. Lyme Regis Harbour's guidance asks paddlers to stay within a marked swim-line zone running from the Cobb to Church Cove and to keep clear of the harbour mouth and mooring pontoons, which stay in constant use.
SeaLyme Regis East Beach slipway
Dorset, EnglandThis slipway sits on Lyme Regis's East Beach by Long Entry, next to the RNLI lifeboat station, launching onto Lyme Bay on the Dorset coast. Lyme Regis Harbour's paddling guidance allows kayaks and paddleboards to launch anywhere along the main beach within a marked swim-line zone that runs from the Cobb's north wall to Church Cove, close to this end of the beach, and asks paddlers to keep clear of the harbour mouth and mooring pontoons.
SeaLangton Herring put-in
Dorset, EnglandA concrete slipway reached down Coastguard Road at Langton Herring, on the shore of the Fleet lagoon behind Chesil Beach. The Fleet and Chesil Beach are a SSSI, Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar site, and access to the Fleet-side slope of the beach between Wyke Regis and Abbotsbury is not permitted at any time.
SeaKimmeridge put-in
Dorset, EnglandThis slipway opens onto Kimmeridge Bay, a semi-circular bay of low Kimmeridge Clay cliffs and wave-cut rock ledges on the Smedmore Estate near Kimmeridge village. The bay lies within the Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve, the UK's oldest voluntary marine nature reserve, though the reserve itself carries no statutory wildlife protection.
SeaPeveril Point slipway (Swanage)
Dorset, EnglandThis concrete slipway sits on Peveril Point, the headland that marks the southern end of Swanage Bay. Swanage Bay is sheltered and gently sloping, used for swimming, kayaking, canoeing and other watersports. The slipway stands close to Swanage's RNLI lifeboat station, whose own slipway is a separate, private facility a short distance away.
LakeStarling Lake slipway
Dorset, EnglandThis private slipway launches onto Starling Lake, one of the flooded former gravel-pit lakes on the Silverlake holiday estate near Crossways. It sits slightly apart from the tighter cluster of jetties further along this shore, likely serving its own lakeside plot.
LakeSilverlake private slipway
Dorset, EnglandThis private slipway launches onto an unnamed lake on the Silverlake holiday estate near Crossways, one of a chain of flooded former gravel-pit lakes close to the estate's Wakeling and Overton Islands. The wider water body appears in OpenStreetMap without a name tag, so it is not recorded as a specific named lake here.
Save your own spots
Keep the places you launch, check the wind and shelter before you go, and log every paddle. Add a spot to the directory too, and other paddlers will find it. Free to start.
Some launch spots in this directory are seeded from open data. © OpenStreetMap contributors · Open Database Licence (ODbL)